


Grudge Rule - The Time Before the Storm

by Kinsdura



Series: Grudge Rule [1]
Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Future, Hunter X Hunter Big Bang, HxHBB 2017, HxHBB17, M/M, Minor Violence, i think? im not honestly sure but its def not modern, its okay i promise chrollo just gets punched for his mistakes and he totlally deserves it, most of the time at least
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2017-06-01
Packaged: 2018-11-07 10:11:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 15,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11056800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kinsdura/pseuds/Kinsdura
Summary: There are a few perks to holding a grudge. Some enjoy the anger that boils under their skin, while others appreciate the fine art of vendettas. The best perk, however, are the clocks that seemingly appear out of thin air, as if they were tangible proof of one's hatred. The clocks, simple in body and purpose, ranging from digital timers to hourglasses, have only one sole purpose: to show how long someone has to exact their revenge. Getting revenge within the time limit is the top priority. Any action done within the time limit is overlooked by society and the law. Gossip has it that people call this the Grudge Rule, and that anything done out of spite past the time limit set is illegal. This is the world Kurapika lives in, and it’s also the one that leads him to the most unlikely companions and improbable situations.





	1. Insult

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this is my next HXHBB! This one is slightly different from the previous one that I made in that it is in parts, this one being only the first part. It's also, for that reason, shorter than the one I made last year. In addition, I have not yet started the next part, but I do plan on making it, so I hope you enjoy what I have here for now, and thank you for reading Grudge Rule~!

**Part I**

**The Time Before the Storm**

“Kurapika, just be careful okay?”

“Mom, I’m going into the city, not some mafia headquarters.”

“I know, but still.” Anahita said, patting him on the shoulder, glancing at the red clock ticking down on the back of his hand. “You only have six hours left.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you taking the bus?”

“Probably.” he shrugged, pulling a jacket on. “It’ll be quicker that way after all.”

“Okay. Come back as soon as you’re done, dinner should be ready by then.”

“Of course.” he said, heading out of the house.

It only took a few minutes for a bus to pick him up and head towards Soasis City. He glanced down at the circle clock glowing over his skin, the second hand ticking as the analog numbers in the center gave specifics on how much time was remaining.

He sighed, trying to recall the last time he had been so upset over something. Was it that one time when his friend Pairo was hit by some kids at school? Or was it that one time when he was unfairly accused of cheating for knowing words above his grade level? As far as he knew, both times the clock had appeared above his skin, indicating how much time he had left to settle his grudge against his opponent. In both instances he ended up in the principal's office, but was ultimately forgiven due to the Grudge Rule.

The bus jerked to a stop, and Kurapika left his thoughts in the back corner seat as he made his way to his destination. He had a mission to do now.

He walked around the city, not really knowing where he was supposed to go exactly, but knew the general direction of by people vaguely pointing in the direction of his target’s apartment complex. He took his time despite the clock ticking down to almost four hours by the time he reached the address he needed.

Kurapika stood at the top of metal stairs, staring at the numbers 213 on a black painted door. He wasn’t sure what he was really waiting for, after all, he still wanted to get back home on time, but he was starting to have doubts about his seemingly silly quest. All he did was insult his family, right? Why had he waited so long to finish off his grudge? Just as he was about to turn and walk away the door opened, revealing a man with black short hair that looked weirdly fluffy and an odd cross tattoo right in the middle of his forehead.

At first Kurapika was sure he had the wrong house; there was no way this man was the same as the one he had encountered the other day, but then he spotted the green bulbous earrings on the other’s ears and knew immediately this was the culprit.

Without so much as an introduction, Kurapika punched the man in the face.

The man reacted comically, the force of the punch making him stagger back, having him stumble into a fish tank behind him which he corrected back onto its stand only to run into the couch next to it and fall over it's back, his legs sticking up as he stopped halfway through his tumble.

“ _ That’s _ for insulting my family.” Kurapika told him for good measure, and was about to turn and leave until he heard a strangled “wait!” He stopped and turned to look at the other man as he clambered to right himself on the couch, looking still rather surprised.

“What’s your name?” he asked out of breath, pulling himself up to rest his arms on the back of the couch.

The blonde allowed a pause to pass between them, still trying to determine if he should just leave without further conversation or not. Then he sighed, turning back to the other man.

“Kurapika.”

“Ah, that was about yesterday wasn’t it?” he asked, rubbing at his cheek.

“It was.” Kurapika confirmed, raising an eyebrow at him. “Do you not remember, or is that all?”

“Sort of… well, actually not… It’s all sort of blurry; I think I drank too much.”

“Too bad for you then, huh?” Kurapika said with a less than sympathetic tone. “Are we done here? Or can I go back home now?” he asked, glancing at the back of his hand, glad to see that the clock had disappeared.

“Not yet. How did you find me?”

“You told me your address.”

“I did?”

“Yup.” Kurapika answered boredly, though he couldn’t deny that it was slightly entertaining to see the other looks so confused. “You told me all of your information while you were drunk.”

“Aw man…”

“Everything except for your name, oddly enough.” Kurapika continued, looking away from the other man to study the fish in the tank he had righted earlier. “All you kept saying in response to my question of what your name was with ‘Who do you  _ think _ I am?’ and then promptly drank another shot afterwards.”

“What the fuck.”

“That’s what I said.”

“Well… I’m Chrollo. Chrollo Lucilfer.”

“Duly noted.”

“...Well then...” Chrollo coughed into his hand uncomfortably. “It’s no wonder my head hurt when I woke up this afternoon… wait, then how did I-?”

“I took you back here.” Kurapika said, finally looking up from the fish tank and up at Chrollo. “It took quite some effort. And money. But honestly I would have felt bad had I left you there.”

“Was this before I insulted your family?”

“Yup.”

“Makes sense... If you don’t mind me asking, on a scale of one to ten, how bad was it?”

“Enough to where the clock registered it as a grudge.” Kurapika said as he tapped the back of his hand. Chrollo gaped at him.

“Shit, I’m sorry.”

“All is forgiven; it’s gone now isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“Then don’t worry about it.” the blonde said, waving at Chrollo’s still concerned face. “Seriously, I got my revenge already, so it’s not like I’m going to do it again, right?”

“Unless I say something else equally stupid.” Chrollo said impulsively, though he looked contemplative as he did. “Wonder what could be worse…?”

“You should probably stop that train of thought right there.” Kurapika warned, mostly for his own benefit more than Chrollo’s. He just really didn’t want to have to come back and punch him; his hand was already throbbing from the first time.

“In fact, I should probably just leave now,” Kurapika continued. “I have to be home for dinner anyway, so-”

“Wait, could I… could I possibly get your number?” Chrollo asked, and Kurapika had to pause in his turn to look back at the other man, questioning if he was hearing right.

“...My what now?”

“Your phone number.”

“...For what?”

“To properly apologize later. I can’t do that if I can’t get in contact with you.”

Kurapika had to stare at Chrollo for a few seconds longer, wondering if this was a really weird dream or not. He shook his head to rid himself of the fuzziness in his brain.

“Fine, just put in your information quickly, and I’ll send you a text later.” the blonde said, handing his phone over. Chrollo smiled and nodded as he took it.

When Chrollo was about to hand the phone back over, it pinged from getting a message.

“Ah, your mom is asking if you’re okay.” Chrollo announced as Kurapika took the phone away from him.

“Thanks. I’ll see you later then… you’re not too bad of a person Lucilfer.” Kurapika said as he turned to answer his mother’s text.

“Thanks, you’re not too bad of a gal yourself.”

Kurapika didn’t even get a chance to fully comprehend what Chrollo had said when he saw the timer return, hovering above the back of his hand as the analog countdown started at  **24:00:00** , slowly ticking down second by second. It got to  **23:59:38** before the blonde responded to Chrollo.

“I’m. A. Boy.”

“...What? Oh fuck, I- I am so sorry-”

“It’s fine, just,” Kurapika inhaled as much air as he could before forcing himself to breathe out slowly. “Make sure you’re here tomorrow.”

“...You’re going to punch me again, aren’t you?”

“If you keep talking, that won’t be the only thing I do.”

Chrollo was silent after that, and not like he would’ve said anything again after that, because Kurapika’s phone started ringing, leaving them to listen to it chime until the blonde walked out of Chrollo’s place and slammed the door behind him. It rang once more before Kurapika answered, slowly making his way down the stairs.

“Kurapika, are you alright? Did you get rid of the timer?”

“Yes and no.” Kurapika huffed out, looking at the reset clock with disdain. “I’ll explain when I get home.”

“Okay, I’ll wait then; be safe on your way home.”

“Right. See you then.”

The call ended, leaving Kurapika to hold the phone to his ear as the dial tone continued in mockery of his new position. He wanted to sneer, but instead he frowned.

“Next time, he'll be out cold.”


	2. Back

The very next day Chrollo woke up in a cold sweat, seeing that his phone had a few messages on it, and all from Kurapika.

He didn’t bother to check what they said; they were all probably telling him that he better be at home, which he most definitely still was. Crawling out of bed, he analyzed his two options: defy the blonde and be hunted down, or stay and let the other finish his revenge.

One offered security for longer, but the other promised a better outcome long-term. He sighed, throwing off his sleep shirt, deciding to deal with his current issue: getting into actual clothes. He had just put on his pants when his stomach gurgled, and he relented with what his body needed.

Looping a belt through his pants, he made his way to the kitchen to find something to eat when he stopped in the middle of the doorway to see Kurapika sitting in his living room. He must’ve made a surprised sound because the blonde looked up almost immediately as he entered the dining room, his mouth forming to greet him only to go slack before he even said anything.

They both sat there silently, their faces slowly becoming increasingly red as time went by, Chrollo being the first to speak up after it all became too unbearable.

“You’re… already here.”

Kurapika nodded at this, his eyes not wandering off of Chrollo. The dark haired man shifted his weight uncomfortably. 

“Uh, I,” he started, but then thought better of trying to explain why he had walked out of his room half naked; the blonde probably didn’t want to hear it. “I’ll go put a shirt on.” Chrollo said finally, turning back to his room to quickly throw one on, returning a moment later and heading straight towards the kitchen without a glance over at his guest. It wasn’t until after he had gathered some snacks did he begrudgingly go to the living room where Kurapika sat.

“Want any?” Chrollo offered to Kurapika, but the blonde shook his head, his gaze avoiding him.

Chrollo sat down, letting few minutes pass where neither of them said anything as he slowly ate at the food he had brought. Just when Chrollo thought he couldn’t take any more silence, the blonde spoke up.

“Your door was unlocked.”

“Oh.”

Chrollo continued to eat until the other spoke up again.

“You should probably lock it next time.” Kurapika advised, and Chrollo shrugged.

“Probably.”

Kurapika finally turned his direction again, a glare on his face.

“Take this more seriously.”

“I’m taking this as seriously as one can.” Chrollo defended through a mouth full of food. “Just give me some time to really wake up.”

“I can help with that.” Kurapika threatened as he raised his arm up as if ready to punch him again, and Chrollo leaned as far away as he could from the blonde.

“Thanks but no thanks. Please wait till  _ after _ I’m done eating to release your vengeance upon my face.”

Kurapika dropped his arm. “Not like I was really going to at this moment, but alright.”

“Thanks. And I’m sorry, about what I said last time. I don’t know why I assumed that you were a-”

“It’s fine.” the other said through gritted teeth, and Chrollo gave him a deadpan look.

“It’s not fine if you have to hide your anger about it happening.” he pointed out. “If it’s any reassurance, it won’t happen again.” Chrollo promised. “And, you still get to punch me after this. It’s a good deal, right?”

Kurapika eyed him with suspicion but made no further comment on the matter, only humming that he understood.

Chrollo took that as his cue to finish up eating, so he quickly finished the food and threw the trash away, coming back to the living room when he was done doing that. Kurapika seemed deep in thought, and didn’t even look up when Chrollo came back, so the older man sat on the couch, hoping that maybe if he waited long enough that Kurapika’s timer would run out and he would get away with his mistake.

But then again, that was only hoping. And it had been a while since Chrollo had gotten a break with luck.

“After I punch you, you have to make good on what you said last time.”

“...you mean my apology?”

“Yes, your ‘proper’ apology.” Kurapika said, though he sounded less than thrilled about it. “You better make it good.”

“Well after offending you two times in a row, I’m going to have to.”

“Alright. Ready for it?” Kurapika asked, stretching his arms.

“Nope, just surprise-”

Chrollo didn’t even get to finish his sentence when Kurapika’s fist collided with the side of his jaw, and he could immediately tell that it was going to be sore the next day. The force knocked him sideways onto the couch, but he managed to slip off the side and hit the floor, making his whole right arm throb with pain as well.

_ “Ow.” _ he said with emphasis, bringing up a hand to feel at the spot he was punched. A lump was already forming. “That was… quite a surprise.”

“Only doing what you asked of me.” Kurapika said smugly, giving a satisfied smile at the back of his hand that was devoid of any timer. “I do have to say though, this has done wonders for releasing my pent up energy.”

“I’m sure.” Chrollo said, picking himself up. “Should I insult you again just so you can have a punching bag to release your stress?”

“What? No! Why?! Wouldn’t that be a bad deal for you?”

“Not really. You’re nice company to have when I’m not suffering from your wrath.”

Kurapika opened his mouth but nothing came out, his face turning a light pink. He closed his mouth and turned away from Chrollo, seeming embarrassed about the compliment.

“Oh. Thank you.”

“No problem.” Chrollo said, rubbing at his jaw and wincing at how much it hurt now. “Kind of wish this grudge thing took away the pain though.”

“You deserve that pain and you know it.”

“I do.” Chrollo affirmed. “Anyway, now that you’ve accomplished your mission to punch me yet again, what else are you going to do?”

“Go home, probably. Enjoy the rest of my day off.” Kurapika said, getting up. “Speaking of, I should probably head out right now before you slip up, insult me, and then make me come back.”

“You know, you could just ignore it too.”

“You offered to be my punching bag, so if I have the opportunity, why would I ignore it?”

“I’m starting to regret that offer now.” Chrollo sighed, causing the blonde to smile.

“I know. But if you’re not such an awful person later on down the road maybe I won’t get the chance to take advantage of your offer will I?”

“Suppose not.” Chrollo shrugged, watching as Kurapika walked out of the living room. “See you around I guess.”

“Hmm. You too.” Kurapika said, as he got to the door. “Maybe next time we meet you won’t be such a jerk.”

Chrollo smiled.

“Not a chance.”

Kurapika scoffed and waved him goodbye as he left, closing the door behind himself when he did. Chrollo wasn’t sure why, but he suddenly felt really lonely, like the blonde had taken all of the cheer from the room with him. He frowned, but got up anyway, trying to think of what he could do for the remainder of the day, when a thought struck him.

Getting up with haste and motivation, he retrieved his phone from his room, scrolling through his contacts until it got to the one he wanted. He then sent a text message in hopes that he would either force them into another grudge or somehow end up becoming their friend. He hoped, that just maybe, he could accomplish both in due time. But then again, he was definitely sure this wasn’t how friendships were supposed to start:

**hey kurapika**

**want to hear an interesting fact about spiders?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Art made for this chapter](http://johncenalover2002.tumblr.com/post/161304902599/alright-ready-for-it-kurapika-asked) by the wonderful johncenalover2002!!


	3. Back Again

Kurapika had to admit, he didn’t mind visiting Chrollo everyday so far these past two weeks, but what he  _ did  _ mind was that each visit was elicited by the older man saying something stupid over text.

At first it started with stupid, useless, mundane facts about stuff, that eventually turned into puns and memes. Kurapika never thought Chrollo to be the type of person to harass anyone, but he guessed he was wrong on that point.

“Your texts are getting annoying.” Kurapika commented as he walked into Chrollo’s apartment, noting that the door had remained unlock despite his persistence on the subject. “And are you never going to lock your door?”

“There’s no reason to.” Chrollo said from the kitchen, giving him a smile. “And my texts are a delight.”

Kurapika rolled his eyes at that.

“Do you text everyone like this?”

“Only my friends.” he said nonchalantly, oblivious to Kurapika’s face heating up at the statement. “Though if they really bother you I can stop.” he offered, looking up to the blonde as he did. Kurapika shook his head at the offer.

“No, it’s… fine. They could be a lot worse.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“It most definitely isn’t.” Kurapika said with a glare, and Chrollo gave an apologetic smile. 

“By the way, do you have anything else to do today?” the dark haired man asked, walking over to the living room and sitting onto the couch. “Or should I rather ask if coming over here to punch me was the only thing you had planned today?”

Kurapika raised a questioning eyebrow at him, but when the other didn’t elaborate any further, he caved into answering.

“No.”

“Perfect.” Chrollo said, causing Kurapika to look at him, confused at his response.

“Excuse me?”

“I said ‘perfect’ because I’ve just thought of how I can apologize to you for causing so much trouble.” Chrollo said, smiling. “I’ll be right back.”

Chrollo quickly went to his room, leaving the blonde to sit in his living room still confused. Fifteen minutes later Chrollo reemerged from his room, having changed into nicer clothes and with his hair brushed back, gel holding it down in place. Kurapika squinted at him in befuddlement for a split second before he stood up, his face warming up again.

“No...” he warned, and Chrollo seemed hard pressed to not smile at that.

“Why not?” he asked innocently, walking back over to the living room; Kurapika edged away from the taller man cautiously.

“I am _ not _ going on a date with you.” Kurapika accused and Chrollo gave a dramatized hurt expression.

“Why, who said anything about a date?  _ I  _ most certainly didn’t!” Chrollo said with mock offense, causing Kurapika to grind his teeth, though he didn't really feel any anger more than he felt frustrated.

“Well that’s  _ certainly _ what it seems like!” Kurapika said defensively, and Chrollo chuckled at that.

“I know, I know.” he assured, putting his hands up to try and calm the blonde. “But this is the best thing I could think of.”

Kurapika relaxed his shoulders a bit, the blush draining from his face as he forced his composure back, but he still gave Chrollo a suspicious look nonetheless.

“Oh really now? Where will you be taking me then?”

“A restaurant.” Chrollo supplied. “Food always makes people happy; it’s hard to go wrong with that.”

“...which one?”

“Any one you want.”

“Really?” Kurapika asked somewhat surprised.

“Really. I’m paying for everything, so I don’t mind even if it’s expensive.” Chrollo shrugged, though he was sure the other man was hoping the blonde wouldn’t wring him from every cent in his pocket.

“Are you sure? Isn’t this a little much for only insulting me a couple times?” Kurapika asked skeptically, and Chrollo shrugged again.

“Well, this  _ is  _ an apology for the past two weeks, but you could also say that this could also be used for future mishaps. If they happen, that is.”

Kurapika rested his chin on his hand, giving Chrollo a critical once over before sighing.

“Alright, fine.” the blonde consented with a wave of his hand, too tired to argue but also glad that something rewarding was actually coming out of this whole ordeal. “But I still need to get into nicer clothes myself.”

“Don’t worry about that either.” Chrollo said, pulling the blonde along with him to the door. “I’ll buy you some.”

“You’ll what?” Kurapika asked incredulously, taking another look at Chrollo. Just how much money did this guy  _ have _ ?

“You know, if you keep asking me to repeat myself, I’ll think you’ll have a hearing problem.” Chrollo teased, and Kurapika elbowed him in the side, getting the dark haired man to release him.

“And if you keep saying ridiculous things I’m going to think you’re insane!”

“You already think that.” Chrollo smiled, and Kurapika couldn't help but smile back.

“Touché.”


	4. Apology Date

Overall, Chrollo had to conclude that it had been a successful night so far. They had gone to an upscale restaurant that Kurapika had chosen out, as if testing the older man’s commitment to his promise. Chrollo obliged with the request without flinching, and even got them a table on the top floor  _ and _ the balcony, just for kicks.

He wasn’t sure what else he exactly did, but he had also managed to pull off not saying anything stupid yet the entire time, which meant that for the first time since the start of the month, that Kurapika didn't have a clock ticking away on the back of his hand.

“I still think this is a little much.” Kurapika complained across from him, though Chrollo knew it didn’t have much meaning behind it at this point since it was the sixth time that the blonde had brought it up.

“Two weeks’ worth of torture in exchange for a fancy dinner out seems pretty equal to me.” Chrollo countered, taking a sip of wine. Kurapika gave him a disbelieving look.

“And I suppose that would also include in the fees of buying me the nice designer brand clothes for said fancy dinner?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“You’re ridiculous.” Kurapika breathed out in a laugh, shaking his head as he did. Chrollo wasn’t sure what it was about that particular moment of the blonde doing that, but he found himself mesmerized by it.

“You’re beautiful.” Chrollo commented, not even really thinking about any consequences that could come from speaking his mind. Kurapika turned to him blushing, mouth slightly open since he was caught off guard by the older man’s compliment, but then gave a disapproving pout.

“Don’t change the subject.” Kurapika accused, though it was teasing in a way that Chrollo didn’t even mind. “What kind of job do you even have where you can just buy all of this expensive stuff?”

Chrollo contemplated telling the truth or outright lying, but instead settled with a half truth.

“I work out of home on the computer. I also have a lot saved up from previous jobs.” he said, and the blonde seemed convinced by that answer.

“Makes sense. What were your previous jobs?” Kurapika asked, and Chrollo made a face.

“I’d rather not talk about them.” he said, hoping that the other would understand. His previous jobs weren’t exactly material you told someone so soon, especially without lots of preparation. Thankfully, Kurapika just nodded understandingly. “What about you, what job do you have?”

Kurapika pursed his lips at that.

“Nothing special really. I mostly do odd jobs around the town. I used to work as a cashier for the market, then I worked as a waiter for that one Italian restaurant down the road from the middle school. Currently though I’m working two part time jobs; one as an arranger and cashier at the floral shop near the edge of town, and the other as an assistant baker for the bakery across the street.”

“Whoa, you have a lot of talent to do such a variety of things.” Chrollo praised, genuinely impressed. “Are those all the jobs you’ve done?”

“Nope. When I was in college I worked in the school library as a student librarian and I also used to be a tutor for kids a few weeks before finals rolled around.” Kurapika said proudly, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Impressive.” Chrollo said, giving a low whistle. “Seriously. I don’t think I was ever that active during my college years; let alone being able to get so many jobs.”

“What did you major in in college?” Kurapika asked, and Chrollo gave a weary smile.

“I was an archaeology major before I dropped out.” he said, looking out over the city in order to ignore Kurapika’s reaction to his reply.

There was silence after that, so Chrollo tried to focus on the moving cars below them, and how the city lights looked really nice when admired from such a high view. It wasn’t until after a few minutes did Kurapika speak again.

“I’m sorry.”

“No need.” Chrollo reassured him with a smile, though he felt it did little to comfort the blonde. “I’m serious. I made the decision myself. Plus, you see how much money I have; I clearly make enough money to live despite not having finished college!”

Kurapika nodded slowly, though his smile did not return.

“Thanks for this, by the way.” the blonde said, gesturing towards the table and his clothes. “If you hadn’t denied it, this would probably be the best date I've ever been on.”

“Whoa whoa, I never  _ denied _ it, just said that I hadn’t brought the word up.”

“So  _ is  _ this a date?” Kurapika inquired, and Chrollo couldn’t help but question back.

“Do you  _ want _ it to be?”

Kurapika grinned.

“Maybe.”

Chrollo opened his mouth then closed it, but felt it hang back open. As he continued to gape like a fool, Kurapika began to laugh, and Chrollo could’ve swore that it had stopped time in that moment.

The blonde’s laugh had started out as a light giggle that made one think of wind chimes and small bells, and then it grew in volume, seeming to project around them a sensation that they were in the middle of a meadow of flowers with golden grass swaying around them, the sky a bright blue with white pure clouds passing overhead gently with ebb and lulls of waves of the sea. It sounded, no… felt… heavenly.

Chrollo wasn’t given a chance to reflect on his thoughts or anything else further when he realized that Kurapika had stopped laughing. He suddenly became aware of his mouth still hanging open, so he quickly closed it when Kurapika gathered enough breath to speak again.

“I’m sorry just, you looked so lost–haha–I... I’m so sorry, this is probably so rude...” Kurapika said, though he was saying words between giggles. “You’re just endlessly amusing to me.”

Chrollo felt like some part of him should be offended by that statement, but found that he really didn’t care about it at all. He smiled as Kurapika broke into another fit of laughing, holding onto the table in attempt to not bend over completely. It was so pure and it felt so natural to him that he couldn’t believe he had only met Kurapika two weeks prior.  _ What would life be without him? _ he wondered, but then paused.

What  _ would _ it be like, had he never met the blonde? Surely dull, and far more boring than life ever should be. He wouldn’t have experienced… whatever this feeling he was feeling now was, and he certainly wouldn’t have anything to look forward to. Thinking that, Chrollo knew in that moment that taking Kurapika out on this date was something he would never regret.


	5. A Call

For the first time in two weeks Kurapika didn’t have a clock ticking down above his hand, urging him to go on a seemingly pointless quest to go and punch someone.

It was refreshing to see the change, and he was glad he didn’t have to hide it from anyone anymore. He was also glad that he had no responsibility to finish any grudge either… but he was actually missing the routine of it. Of going downtown to visit with Chrollo and sock him in the jaw. Just… hanging out, something he hadn’t done since he’d graduated middle school.

Thinking of middle school, Kurapika pulled out his phone and dialed a number he knew very well.

“Hello?”

“Hey Pairo, are you free right now?” the blonde asked, getting a chuckle in return.

“No, I picked up the phone because I was so busy with my work that I couldn’t spare a few minutes for my friend.” Pairo said back sarcastically, his eye roll felt through the phone line. “So why did you call? You usually don’t initiate communication.”

“Ah well, I was just thinking back on when we used to hang out and decided to call.” Kurapika said, leaning back in his chair and glancing around to see if anyone was paying him any mind. When he confirmed that no one actually gave a shit that he was semi-slacking off, he turned back to talk to Pairo. “So, how you’ve been?”

“Hmm, I’ve been good.” Pairo mulled, seeming distracted by something. “Busy, as usual. Kind of wish I could move back home and see you and your parents, but I don’t think I’ll get a break till before summer.”

“Are you serious? They’re working you way too hard.” Kurapika said with disbelief. “You deserve a break sooner than that!”

Pairo laughed on his end of the line, amused by Kurapika’s dislike of his work. “When I got this job you knew I wouldn’t have a lot of time off. Besides, I’m sure you’ve made some friends to hang out with while I’ve been gone!”

“Er, I’m not so sure about ‘friends’ per se…”

“Ooooohhh someone’s got a friend!!” Pairo teased, laughing again when Kurapika groaned at him. “It can’t be that bad if you see them often though!” he pressed and Kurapika rolled his eyes at that.

“If you count it because of all the grudges that guy has elicited from me then  _ maybe _ .”

“Whoa what? Someone getting a grudge? Out of  _ you? _ ” Pairo let out a low whistle. “What an impressive guy.”

“ _ Pairo.” _

“Ah, sorry. Maybe not impressive, but he certainly doesn’t seem too bad if you haven’t already started to complain about him.”

“He has bad jokes and seems insensitive to social constructs- no, wait, he just doesn’t have much of a filter.”

“Attractive.” Pairo said sarcastically, though Kurapika could've swore he heard the smile in his voice.

“That’s not the point here.”

“Sure it isn’t, but I do miss teasing you. It was always the highlight of my day.” Pairo mused, and Kurapika couldn’t help but grin.

“You know it went both ways.”

“Hahaha that’s true! We were both pretty good at roasting each other too! Never a dull moment eh?”

“Truly.” Kurapika agreed, noticing the manager enter the backroom. He ducked forward in his seat and lowered his voice. “Alright, well I have to go, hopefully we can talk again soon.”

“Okay, talk to you then! And tell your new friend ‘Hi!’ for me will ya? Ciao!”

The line went dead as Pairo hung up, and Kurapika quickly hid his phone in his pocket as the manager walked past, barely even giving Kurapika a second glance as she walked by. Breathing a sigh of relief at not being caught, he reviewed back on his conversation with Pairo.

Had Chrollo actually become his friend? Surely they couldn’t have, not after all that had transpired between them; but then again, they got along fairly well for people who got on each other’s nerves so often. Well, maybe that last part only applied to himself, but he still couldn’t be sure about the friend thing.

As Kurapika got back to work of arranging some flowers together, he repressed the urge to call Pairo back and ask  _ seriously _ had he actually found another friend? How could you tell if you made a friend? What were things that you did with normal friends? Did friends take each other out on  _ dates? _

The blonde shook his head, clearing his mind of those questions with some embarrassment and concentrated on his work, hoping the problems would figure themselves out.

Or, maybe, he could just ask Chrollo about it when they meet again.


	6. Grocery Store

It was at least a week after their date did Chrollo see Kurapika again. Sure, they had texted, but Kurapika was trying to catch up with the work he had missed so Chrollo did his best to avoid causing the blonde to miss work again because of a grudge. And now, here they were, crossing paths again in the middle of a grocery store.

“It’s nice to see you Kurapika, it’s been a while hasn’t it?” Chrollo greeted, accidentally startling Kurapika when he did. The blonde gave a sharp glare only to realize it was Chrollo, slumping his shoulders and sighing when he did.

“It’s… good to see you again too.” Kurapika hesitated, obviously distracted by something. “How’ve you been?”

“Pretty alright, though I ran out of food in my house so I was kind of forced out.” Chrollo shrugged, taking a loaf of bread from the shelf in front of them. “How about you? Have you caught up with your work yet?”

“Not quite.” Kurapika sighed again, scratching the back of his head as he too grabbed a loaf of bread. “My boss didn’t seem to mind about the makeup work but it’d still be nice if people at my workplace didn’t pester me for why I was gone for so long.”

“Ah, nosy coworkers?”

“Yup.”

“Well, it could be worse.” Chrollo shrugged, following Kurapika as he walked to the next aisle.

“Like getting blackout drunk and insulting my family?” Kurapika asked, cracking a smile when Chrollo gave an aghast look at him.

“You can’t hold that over me forever!” he said exasperatedly, but all it did was make Kurapika laugh.

“I don’t know, I think I can. After all, this is the first time I’ve met you in public when you haven’t been drunk off your ass.”

Chrollo was about to counter but instead squinted at Kurapika.

“How do you know I’m not drunk now?”

“It’s afternoon.”

“Never too early to start drinking.” Chrollo pointed out. Kurapika held back a snort.

“You don’t smell like alcohol.” the blonde corrected and the older man laughed at that.

“You’re right, I don’t.” he relented, smiling down at the blonde. “By the way, if you have time next week-”

“Are we friends?” Kurapika interrupted, surprising Chrollo enough to where he stopped walking. The blonde had stopped too, not making eye contact with his companion and wearing an anxious look on his face. Chrollo internally panicked.

“I think so?” he answered, though he wasn’t one hundred percent sure. He wasn’t even sure what actually qualified someone to be a friend, but he knew that he liked talking to Kurapika and hanging out with him so that was enough for him, but what if it wasn’t enough for Kurapika?

“Are you not sure?” Kurapika asked as he turned to Chrollo and the older man raised an eyebrow up in confusion.

“I think it’s you that’s not sure.”

Kurapika pressed his lips into a thin line, squinting at Chrollo as if trying to figure out a really complicated math problem.

“Maybe.”

“Is this really something you can answer ‘maybe’ too?”

“Probably… not.” Kurapika admitted, furrowing his eyebrows when he did. “It just hadn’t occurred to me that there was a label for our… relationship.”

“Well, if we enjoy each other’s companionship then I think that counts us as being friends right?”

Kurapika looked like he was going to protest what he said then hesitated, jutting out his bottom lip as he thought.

“Yes, I do believe you’re right.” Kurapika said after a while, causing Chrollo to smile.

“Great! And now that we have that confirmed, I’ll get back to what I was going to ask you earlier.”

“Ah, right, sorry.” Kurapika apologized, but Chrollo waved him off.

“It’s cool. Anyway, if you have time next weekend, I wanted to show you the place I used to work!” Chrollo said, though as he did he was beginning to doubt if it was such a good idea to show Kurapika after all.

“What? Really? But you didn’t even want to talk about your previous work.” Kurapika said, looking slightly concerned. “Are you sure about this?”

“No, I’m not, but I thought… well, that you’d want to know is all… plus, it wasn’t all too bad of a place! The people were friendly with the exception of that one weird guy, but all in all a really pleasant environment.”

“Then why did you leave?”

“Eh, it just wasn’t for me anymore.” Chrollo shrugged, turning to gather what he needed to finish his shopping trip. Kurapika followed him, and the dark haired man was grateful for the company. “So, what do you say?”

“Hmm, I’ll see if I’m free.” Kurapika said. “And if I am I’ll let you know.”

Chrollo grinned and nodded his understanding. After that, they split off on their own ways, and Chrollo managed to complete his shopping list despite getting distracted from constantly thinking about how someone could be so smart yet so dense about relationships.


	7. Managers

That weekend, Kurapika made sure that he had time to go visit Chrollo, finding that he was very curious about what his friend’s previous job had been. Chrollo had avoided talking about it before and Kurapika hadn’t questioned it much, but since he was given the opportunity to learn about it he wasn’t about to turn that down.

They had met at Chrollo’s place and then the older man drove them to where he used to work. Originally Kurapika had assumed that it might’ve been in the heart of the city with all the nicer tall buildings that were all shiny and reflective, but Chrollo had drove past all of it and gone through the backroads that eventually lead them to some back hideout that looked like a run-down bar. Kurapika had a hundred questions at that point, but instead he got out of the car and followed Chrollo to the building.

When they entered, Kurapika was filled with relief that the inside was indeed a bar like the outside implied, and that it was much cleaner than the blonde had imagined. It actually looked brand new, the wood on the tables and bar top unscathed and newly glazed and all the low hanging lights looked purposefully rustic, with the lights set low.

“Hey, look at who’s back!” a man at the counter said, his hair up in a weird curl above his forehead. “The main man is here!”

There was a commotion from the back of the bar as some people spilled out from where Kurapika assumed they were relaxing since there were no customers present.

“Chrollo!”

“Boss!”

A shorter man with unkempt black hair jumped over the bar without hesitation and launched himself at Chrollo, the older man catching the other and balancing on his feet so as to not fall over.

“Hello Feitan, it’s nice to see you again.” Chrollo greeted with a grin, then gestured to Kurapika with his head. “I brought a friend.”

Feitan squinted at Kurapika, unconvinced at Chrollo’s statement.

“Really? A friend? That’s not like you. Usually you make enemies.”

“He has a lot of patience it turns out.” Chrollo said, and Kurapika raised his eyebrow at that.  _ Was that a compliment or an insult just now? _

“Does your friend have a name?” a large, tanned man asked, his hair wild and long and thrown up in a crude version of a bun.

“Ah yes, where are my manners?” Chrollo asked dramatically, stepping to the side so his former coworkers could get a better view of Kurapika. “Everyone, this is Kurapika. Kurapika, this is… well, I’ll let them do the introductions.” he said smiling. 

The man who was at the counter when they entered introduced himself as Bashou, and girl with purple (or was it pink?) hair introduced herself as Machi. Then the man next to her with red hair and really pale skin called himself Hisoka, who then winked in a way that made Kurapika feel more like running than swooning. After him, the large man called Uvogin introduced himself and then reintroduced Feitan despite the smaller man’s mumbled complaint in another language.

“What happened to Phinks and Melody? Are they not here today?” Chrollo asked, and Uvogin scratched the back of his neck.

“Well Phinks called in sick today so I’m here to fill in for him, but Melody is in the back still working. She said ‘ _ Someone  _ has got to keep working while the rest of you fool around!’”

Bashou laughed at that.

“As responsible as always! By the way, Chrollo, have you told your friend here what we do?”

“Uhh, not… exactly?” Chrollo said, giving a nervous laugh. “I thought it’d be better to show him.”

“Oh? You’re usually so smart boss, but this could be a fatal mistake.” Hisoka mused, and Kurapika felt like glaring at the clownish man but refrained, instead posing a question himself to get down to business.

“You guys just work at this bar right?”

“Much more than that.” Machi said flatly, her face unimpressed by his inquiry. “We’re managers too.”

Kurapika blinked.

“All of you?”

Machi nodded.

“All of us.”

Kurapika stayed silent, trying to figure out what exactly was so scandalous about this information.

“Okay, and?” he asked, looking at Chrollo. “What’s the big deal about it?”

Chrollo huffed a laugh of relief but he still looked very unsure, or anxious, about everything.

“Well, you know how every now and then your grudge clock pops up?”

“More than every now and then thanks to you,” Kurapika said, jabbing with a finger at his stomach. “But yes, I do.”

“Okay, so what do you do when your time runs out?”

“I go home?” Kurapika questioned, and Uvogin’s laugh to his response was cut short by someone elbowing him in the ribs. Chrollo sighed.

“No, I meant what would you do if you couldn’t exact your revenge before your time went out?”

“That would never happen. I always avenge myself.” Kurapika said confidently, and he got to bare witness to Chrollo smacking his palm into his face and hear muffled laughter in the background from everyone else. Kurapika forced back his smile as Chrollo gave him a pleading look to cooperate before continuing in an exasperated voice.

“For the sake of this scenario, pretend like it did.”

“Okay.” Kurapika consented with a shrug, trying to think of what he would do in the scenario. “I guess I would… do nothing about it then.”

“But why?”

“Because the law says that after the time is out, any further action on the subject would be illegal.”

“It does, yes, but you would still want revenge right?”

“Well of course I would.” Kurapika huffed, wondering where this was going.  _ What did the Grudge Rules have to do with any of this? _

“Then that’s where we would come in.” Chrollo said gesturing to himself and his former coworkers. “We could fulfill someone else’s grudge for them. It’s illegal too, of course, but this reduces the risk for the perpetrator. We do services for grudges that have gone unpunished for years and or for ones that have just expired.”

“Wait, so being managers-”

“Is just the job name. It’s only known in more underground factions. That’s how mafias are able to continue long feuds and how some people pull pranks on each other.”

“So the bar is…?”

“A front.” Chrollo said with a grin. Kurapika nodded, turning his thoughts inward as he did.

He wasn’t so sure what he felt about being told that his friend used to have an illegal job that basically loop holed around the Grudge Rule, but it was certainly very overwhelming knowing it had to do with the black market. Kurapika felt his arms trembling so he crossed them, attempting to calm his nerves as he continued the conversation.

“So, it’s like being a hitman?”

“Basically, though that definition is solely for killing, so it was replaced with manager, mostly because we managed everyone’s private affairs and that people get killed very rarely. It’s mostly punching someone or making their day miserable or haunting them to where they can’t sleep at night.” Chrollo explained, leaning on a table behind him. “We try to avoid death.”

“Is it not dangerous for you guys though?” Kurapika asked, worried. “What if someone kills you for doing someone else’s grudge?”

The bar went silent, and Kurapika wondered what line he crossed that he was unaware of.

“See, even in the underground, it’s very poor manners to kill a manager.” Feitan said, speaking up to make sure he was heard. “Sure when we act like hitmen we know the consequences that come with it, but if someone were to actively come after us when we weren’t trying to take their life, well, they wouldn’t be in a too good position themselves.”

“This is our jobs, our livelihood! We do what we do to get by, not because we enjoy torturing people.” Bashou said, and Hisoka chuckled, causing Bashou to roll his eyes and say, “Except for Hisoka.”

“I see…” Kurapika said, not really understanding at all but saying that just to get by the awkward tension in the room. 

At that moment though, he was saved from anymore judgement from everyone by a short (shorter than Feitan, he noted surprisedly) person walk into the room from the back door, carrying a pile of papers.

“Feitan, Machi, you two have three jobs this week.”

“Nice.”

“Okay.”

“Bashou, Hisoka, you guys have one.”

“Hm.”

“Ohhh, lucky!”

“And Uvogin, you have two.”

“Great!”

The newcomer began handing out the papers as the group flocked around them. When everyone had gotten their papers, they started flooding out, and Kurapika got to clearly see the new person, who waved over at him and Chrollo.

“Hello Chrollo! And hello other person! Please don’t be afraid of all of us, most of us are actually quite friendly!” they said walking around from the bar and offering Kurapika a hand. “It’s nice to meet you by the way! I’m Melody, I work with the lesser grudges people hold! ...And all of the paperwork.” she ended, sighing.

Kurapika took her hand and shook it, smiling at her and finding her nice despite the work she did.

“It’s nice to meet you too. And what do you mean by lesser grudges? Is there a scale?”

“Sort of.” Melody said, beckoning him and Chrollo to follow her to a table to sit down at. “It’s more on scale of how much we get paid. It determines how much we do back to the person they want revenge on.”

“Oh, I see.” Kurapika said, sitting down when they arrived at the table. “So how much do you get per request then?”

“Me?” Melody asked, and he nodded his head. “One to a hundred thousand per.”

Kurapika swore that if he had been drinking anything in that moment that he would’ve made a grand spit take in that moment he was so surprised.

“And like I said,” Melody continued, giving him an amused look, probably very well aware how caught off guard he was with her answer, “I do the  _ lesser  _ grudges. As in I get paid the least per request, but I also get the most frequent.”

“What does everyone else make then?” Kurapika asked, then back pedaled. “Though I completely understand if that’s violating some rules-”

“It’s fine; it’s natural to be curious after hearing my answer.” Melody amended, smiling at him then at Chrollo, who looked just as amused as she did. “Bashou makes one hundred-and-one to two hundred thousand per request, Phinks, whom you haven’t met and is currently sick, gets two hundred-and-one to four hundred thousand per request. Feitan gets four hundred-and-one to seven hundred thousand per request, and Machi gets seven hundred-and-one to one million per request.” she said, smiling.

Kurapika was still gaping at the amount of money everyone made, trying not to look as amazed as he felt. He felt Chrollo put a hand on his shoulder, bringing him back to earth and away from his thoughts.

“How much does Hisoka make? Is he a substitute still?” Chrollo asked Melody, and she shook her head. “No, he took your position when you left and is now making over a million dollars per request.”

Chrollo gave a low whistle as Kurapika looked over at Chrollo in astonishment.  _ So  _ that’s  _ where he got all his money from. _

“I knew he had potential.” he said, ignoring the blonde’s look completely as Melody gave him a flat look.

“Anyone who is on par with you in fighting has more than just potential.” she said, to which he just laughed it off, shaking his hand in dismissal of the praise.

“You  _ fought  _ him?” Kurapika asked out loud, and Chrollo turned to him with a smile.

“Of course I did. I had to see if he was good enough to be my substitute. I did, after all, have the highest level of grudges to fulfill. They tended to be very dangerous and required offensive and defensive skills to complete and survive those requests.”

Kurapika blinked at him, trying to figure out if he was being bluffed to or not. Melody kicked Chrollo in the shin, making the taller man curl over and hit his face on the table.

“Knock it off Chrollo, you’re going to terrify him!” Melody scolded, standing up on her seat to be eye level with him when he lifted his head.

“Sorry, my bad.” he said, though she only glared at him more.

“I’m not the one you should apologize to.”

Chrollo smiled meekly then turned to Kurapika.

“I’m sorry. I can make it up to you later if you want?”

“There’s not much I want from you so I’ll have to decline.” Kurapika deadpanned, crossing his arms.

He didn’t like that this Melody person could sense when he was getting anxious about everything, but he was also grateful that she did something about it. Looking over at her, he bowed his head slightly in her direction.

“Thank you for that.”

“Oh please, I didn’t do anything much.” Melody said, waving her hand at him. “But I must say I’m surprised with how long you’ve put up with Chrollo. He may  _ be  _ a pleasant person but he is impulsive and pushy to get his way.”

“Not since I’ve known him.” Kurapika admitted, giving Chrollo a look. “And if he was, it’s not all that noticeable.”

“I’ve changed quite a bit since I’ve left Melody; you can’t assume I’m still the same!” Chrollo said in defense of himself, but Melody didn’t look convinced.

“I would bet half of my earnings that if you ever came back to this job you would go back to being your same old self.” she said seriously, and Chrollo frowned.

“If I’m to be honest, I don’t think I’d want that. I took quite a while to recover from the issues I had after leaving here.”

“I’m sure, but you know what they say: old habits die hard.” With that, she slid off her chair and went to get something behind the bar. “And don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to be mean to you, but it’s what Pakunoda said would happen.”

“Who’s Pakunoda?” Kurapika asked her, but Chrollo answered instead.

“She’s another substitute manager here. She has great insight on many things, and most of what she predicts is true.”

“So she’s a fortune teller?”

“Close, but not quite.” Chrollo sighed, leaning his head into his hand. “She’s just really good at figuring out what you’ll do based off of your personality and past.”

“Oh, how fun.” Kurapika said unenthusiastically. Between her and Melody, he felt like anyone that sat between those two would be as readable as a children's book between them both.  _ And I would  _ not  _ want that at all. _

“Well since I’m here, I’ll gladly let you know that I won’t be coming back to this job if I can help it.” Chrollo said, interrupting Kurapika’s train of thought.

“Am I supposed to relay that to Pakunoda or something?” Melody asked without amusement, and all Chrollo did was shrug, getting out of his own chair and beckoning Kurapika to follow suit.

“Who knows, but I’m sure she’ll hear about it whether or not I tell you to anyway.”

Melody stuck her tongue out as Chrollo swiftly left the bar, going back outside to where it had already become dark.

Kurapika decided to take his time with getting out of the bar, seeing no real rush to leave since he had nothing else to do when he got back home.

“Melody,” he started, turning towards the short woman. “Thank you for your hospitality; it’s been wonderful.”

“No, the pleasure was all mine! I’m glad I got to meet you! You seem to handle Chrollo well, and you’re the first person he’s brought back that wasn’t here for job related reasons, so it’s definitely an improvement from who he used to be.” she said smiling.

Kurapika smiled back as he felt his phone vibrate, with a text from Chrollo asking if he was coming or not. He inwardly laughed at the message as a mental image of a child pouting in a car seat popped up in his head and related it to Chrollo. He typed back that he was getting there when he had an idea.

“Melody, if you don’t mind me asking for a favor,” he said, switching the app on his phone before handing it over. “I’d like to have your phone number so that we can continue to talk.”

“Really?” Melody asked, obviously shocked by him asking. “You seemed kind of… uncomfortable around me though…”

“Oh,” Kurapika half held back a flinch.  _ Am I really so obvious? _ “Well, I was, and maybe still am, but I think we’d be good friends if given some time.” he said, giving her a hopeful smile.

She studied him a bit longer before smiling herself, and taking his phone.

“I’m glad then! I thought so too!” she confessed, entering her phone number into his contacts and handing it back over. “But I’m pretty sure you should go now; someone is waiting on you.” Melody said as he got yet another text from Chrollo.

“He’s patient, he can wait.” Kurapika joked, and Melody laughed into her hands.

“You’re right, but you really should go!”

“I know, I know. Bye Melody, it was nice meeting you.” he said, leaving the bar.

“You too!” she said before the door closed, leaving Kurapika in the cold parking lot with the lights of Chrollo’s car shining brightly next to him. He walked around the car and got into the passenger seat and buckled himself in before Chrollo spoke.

“I know it’s probably not my business, but what took so long?”

“I was making a friend.” Kurapika said vaguely, but Chrollo smiled at him, accepting the answer without question.

“That’s good.”

They drove out of parking lot and through the backstreets until they made it out into the main part of the city again, the lights of all of the buildings shining brightly and blurring together as they sped past them.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to make it up to you for scaring you earlier?” Chrollo asked then, giving him a side glance before returning his eyes to the road. Kurapika snorted.

“I wasn’t scared, but if you insist, I suppose I don’t have any reason to deny it.”

“So it’s a date?” Chrollo questioned, grinning at Kurapika as he did, and Kurapika couldn’t help but grin back.

“Sure, it’s a date.”


	8. Advice

After that day, time flew by quickly for Chrollo. He couldn’t tell if it was because he and Kurapika had gone back to their greet-and-punch schedule or if it was because almost every time they did that Kurapika would agree to stay the night and spend the next day with him.

Chrollo couldn’t even say it bothered him, because it really didn’t. With the way things were, he could finish what he needed for his job and still be around Kurapika, and it worked out just fine. Sure he might’ve pulled a few all-nighters to maintain it, but all in all a pretty good life.

He explained all of this to Feitan over the phone, who then in turn told almost everyone at the bar that Chrollo and Kurapika were forever in the tango of the “no-homo” zone because they still continued to call each other friends even after all of this time.

“Feitan it’s really not like that at all!” he said, leaning back on his couch as he gazed at the popcorn ceiling. “Seriously, if there was anything more to it, you’d be the first to know.”

“Would I?” Feitan inquired genuinely, though the response sounded doubtful. “After updating the workplace of your stagnant ability of moving things forward, you would confide in me about your relationships?”

“Yes, because I know that you have enough common sense of when and when not to keep a secret.” Chrollo said back, the silence from the other end confirming his statement. “Besides, I can’t even be sure of my own emotions in this. He just makes me happy, I guess.”

“Boyfriends make you happy.”

“And so do regular friends  _ Feitan _ .” Chrollo sighed out. “Why do you think this will turn romantic? Why can’t I just have  _ one _ friend that won’t become my future spouse?”

“Because to you, friends are a casual thing. Take us for example,” Feitan said, in which Chrollo could imagine the shorter man gesturing to himself and then the rest of the bar area, where the others would supposedly be. “We are people you hang out with when it’s of convenience and when you are seeking others for company. We, of course, do the same thing. That’s how these friendships work with you usually.

“But that,” Feitan paused, sighing next to the phone before bringing his mouth back to the speaker. “That is dangerous territory.”

“You’re not talking about the dates are you?”

“The  _ what  _ now?”

Chrollo hesitated before he spoke.

“I did tell you that we went on dates right?”

Feitan made a strangling noise that was mixed with some off-pitch yelling. When he came back he sounded exasperated.

“You are leading this boy on and you don’t even  _ know  _ it! Oh my God, when Melody hears about this-”

“Hears about what?” Melody asked, her voice coming in through the speaker despite how softly she seemed to ask the question.

The phone was then promptly dropped to the floor, or, so Chrollo assumed what with the loud thud that came from the other side of the line with a faded out bickering between Melody and Feitan.

Chrollo heard the phone get picked up, and while he was hoping it’d be Feitan, he had no such luck.

“Hello?”

“Ah, Hisoka.” Chrollo guessed, and he heard a chuckle come through; it was hard to not know what the other man’s voice sounded like. It could haunt people’s dreams if he used it right.

“How did you know?”

“I can smell your bubblegum perfume from here.” he instead said, and he heard another laugh from Hisoka.

“I’ve actually changed it recently; it’s strawberry now. You would’ve noticed if you had bothered to say ‘hi’ last time you dropped by.” Hisoka guilted him, but Chrollo was more surprised by the change in perfume than the passive aggressiveness of Hisoka’s comment.

“Wait, why did you change?”

“Can’t a man switch it up every now and then?”

“I mean sure, but it was  _ your thing _ . As in, I’m pretty sure half of your surviving victims get flashbacks to the nightmarish time in whence you attacked them whenever they smell bubblegum, type of thing.”

“Hmm, while it certainly  _ is _ my trademark in a way, I decided that it was time for something new. Plus, can’t have people coming and tracing it back to me can we?”

“Not like you were ever afraid of that anyway.” Chrollo muttered, and Hisoka laughed.

“Correct as always. Ah, and what is it that Feitan is arguing with Melody about? He doesn’t seem keen on letting anything slip.”

“I wonder.” Chrollo supplied uselessly, and he could just imagine the temporary frown it put on Hisoka’s face when he said that.

“If you tell me, I’ll give you another reason why I switched my perfume.”

“Your hygiene and etiquette is of no interest to me.”

“And I’ll give you my advice if there is need of any.” Hisoka offered again, and Chrollo considered it a bit.

“Should I really trust advice from you though?”

“That’s up to you.” Hisoka said somewhat seriously, and Chrollo shrugged.

“Alright, it can’t do much harm I suppose.” he said, getting more comfortable on the couch before continuing. “Feitan is convinced I’ve been leading Kurapika on in a romantic relationship without asserting what my own feelings are first. He thought it would end in romance now he probably thinks it’ll end in disaster.”

“Wow,” Hisoka said seeming honestly surprised. “This is a much different topic than I imagined it’d be, but I can still help.”

“Really now?” Chrollo wondered, and Hisoka tsked.

“Don’t go underestimating me Chrollo; you know what happens to those who do.”

“I do.” Chrollo confirmed, smiling. “So, what have you got for me then?”

“Well, you most certainly are leading him on in what  _ could _ be interpreted as a romantic relationship, but given that you’re both so dense, it  isn’t doing much in effect on either of you.”

“Wait, what?”

_ “You’re dense Chrollo.” _ Hisoka repeated. “And so is he. So while it definitely could have  _ been _ bad, you and he have already established somewhere along the way that you two were friends, and so until you two sit down and re-establish what new relationship you both will have, everything you two do is going to be viewed through the friend filter.”

“How… do you know all of this?”

“I’ve had a similar affair happen.”

“Wait you-”

“Enough about me; I’m not done analyzing your love life.” Hisoka interrupted, seeming pleased that he had the honor of doing so. “Unlike Feitan I’m going to force you to face your emotions rather than wait it out, so do bear with me.”

Chrollo sighed, trying not to regret his impulsive decision to tell Hisoka what he was going through.

“Alright, go ahead.”

“Of course. But first, questions.”

“Questions?”

“You heard right.”

“Okay…”

“Now, have you two gone on any dates?”

“A few.”

“Has he asked for these dates or have you provided them of your own volition?”

“The latter.”

“Do you instigate him to come visit you?”

“Most of the time.”

“Have you ever visited  _ him? _ ”

“Ye- wait, no, not yet at least.”

“Why not?”

“He lives with his parents, apparently. Guess he doesn’t want them getting the wrong idea?”

“So he told you you weren’t allowed there?”

“Basically.”

“Hmm, that is… complicated.”

“See? I told Feitan that and he didn’t believe me.”

“Then he is a fool.”

“Sometimes he can be.”

“...Perhaps this is out of place to say this, but may I-”

“Give that  _ back  _ Hisoka!” Feitan’s voice came in abruptly, and Hisoka laughed, probably lifting the phone high out of Feitan’s reach.”

“Aww is this  _ important? _ I would’ve never  _ thought _ -”

There was a few grappling noises and then a loud thud, in which Chrollo assumed that the phone had been dropped again.

As he waited patiently for someone to pick the phone up again, he got a text from Kurapika that he was on his way over. Chrollo groaned, if only because he knew he was getting punched again. He tried to recall what he had done this time to deserve the blonde’s wrath.

Before he could dwell too much on it, the phone was picked up with Feitan breathing heavily into the receiver.

“Sorry about that.”

“It was no problem, he didn’t bother me.” Chrollo said truthfully. “Did you resolve your argument with Melody?”

“Yes and no. It’s ended for now but she said she’s gonna find me later to continue it.”

“Haha, glad that’s not me anymore!” Chrollo teased, and he heard Feitan huff at him.

“Well it’s  _ about _ you, so worry a little more or else I’ll tell her everything.”

“Hmm, if only I had the capacity for sympathy…”

“You know you damn do and both of us know that.”

“Fair enough. I’m sorry.”

“That’s better.” Feitan said before sighing. “Though, thinking about it, it might be easier to tell Melody.”

“Why is that?”

“Because she’s good friends with Kurapika apparently.” Feitan said, seemingly confused. “They’ve been texting almost daily after you brought him here.”

“Oh,” Chrollo said, surprised himself; the fact of Kurapika having mentioned Melody over and over again these past few weeks suddenly made a lot more sense with that information. “Then maybe conspire? I don’t know? I’m unsure of what to do about this whole thing.”

“This is a new experience for all of us I’m sure.”

“Not Hisoka.”

“What in the hell do you mean ‘Not Hisoka’?” Feitan asked incredulously.

“I… uh, good question.” Chrollo backpedaled, not even sure if it was his info to give away for not. “Just pretend I didn’t say anything.”

Feitan gave a discontented grunt but didn’t comment further on it.

“Fine. Anyway, I’ll talk to her about it later if you need me to, but say so now or forever hold your peace.”

“Just do it Feitan.” Chrollo sighed as he got another text from Kurapika saying he was almost there. “Also, I’ve gotta go. Let me know how it all works out.”

“Got it. Also, try not to oogle too much at Kurapika today okay?”

“I do not-”

The call was ended just as he was about to finish his sentence, and prevented himself from frustratedly throwing his phone down onto the couch pillow next to him.  _ Why does Feitan always get in the last word? _

Chrollo took the phone away from his face to look at the time, watching as the minute turned to the next. He kept staring at the clock on his phone, his mind wandering off to the last time he had seen his own clock hovering over his wrist, ticking down as time went by and patiently telling him how long he had left before he would no longer have the opportunity to strike.

Chrollo blinked out of the vision, bringing himself to rub at his eyes in attempt to make the images go away. When all he could see where floating bright dots swimming in his vision, he took it as a sign to stop what he was doing. Taking one last glance at his phone, he placed it face down onto the coffee table and turned onto his side, not even realizing that he was falling asleep as the world faded away from around him.


	9. Decision

Kurapika was, admittedly, very confused when he received a phone call from Melody just as he pulled up to Chrollo’s apartment.  _ What could she possibly want right now? _ He answered the phone, wondering if he should worry.

“Hello?”

“Kurapika where are you right now?”

“Uh, outside of Chrollo’s place?”

“Oh good, I caught you before you got to him.”

Kurapika blinked a few times, taking the phone away from his ear to give the phone a perplexed look.

“Is there something I need to know about Melody?” he asked wearily, and he heard a voice in the background get shushed halfway through giving a very exasperated “Yes!”

“It’s nothing of concern, but maybe something that your attention should be brought to.” Melody said.

“Alright… so, what is it?”

“Well, hmm, Feitan, do you want to explain?” Melody ask, presumably turning to Feitan as she did. Kurapika heard a few mumbled words that he couldn’t make out except for one sentence that sounded something like “Fuck that shit!” and some stomping noises accompanied by it. “Guess not,” Melody said in a disapproving tone. “Even after telling me your side of the story.”

“Melody, please, just tell me what in the world is going on over there.” Kurapika said, really trying to be patient with the whole thing. He hoped he wasn’t making Chrollo wait too long for him.

“Okay, um, well… remember how you and I were talking about uh… feelings the other day?”

“Briefly.” Kurapika said, having a bad feeling for where this was going. “Why?”

“Do your feelings still hold true as of now?”

“Depends on which ones you’re referring to.” he said speculatively.  _ Why is she being so cryptid? _

“The ones regarding Chrollo.”

_ Oh boy. _

“Ah.”

“‘Ah’ indeed. So do they?”

“...They do.”

“Then my sources say that you most definitely can try to push things forward.”

“I did  _ not  _ say that!” Feitan’s voice yelled from behind Melody. “Don’t listen to a word she says, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about!”

“Oh, and I suppose you have some type of expertise on romance then?” Melody challenged back. “If not then keep your trap shut, this is important.”

“This is not that important.” Kurapika said wearily, and he heard Feitan scoff in the background.

“I will have to agree with Melody of this one, but she’s wrong in forcing things to change!”

“As if you’d understand the intricacies of the situation!” Melody shouted back, and Kurapika impulsively hit the mute button on his phone so that he could take a breather from the conversation. Or at least, from what  _ had _ been a conversation until it dissolved into an argument between Melody and Feitan, in which the blonde presumed they had been having before they even called him.

Besides, why did it matter if he  _ maybe _ had some  _ slight _ feelings for Chrollo? He was sure they’d go away eventually; they always did. Besides, the two of them became really close friends really quickly, so he just assumed that it was his brain trying to tell him that he should continue to see a growth of intimacy in the relationship, nothing more than that. It was just a hoax, surely. A fleeting feeling. Besides, he and Chrollo  _ both  _ labeled each other as friends, regardless of any extra “feelings,” so he most certainly was  _ not _ going to be the one to break that delicate barrier. Not without Chrollo saying he wanted something more. It was too risky; and even so, how would he know if these feelings weren’t just fake, momentary things? He had to wait it out. He wasn’t sure for how much longer, but he had to.

With that in mind, he steeled himself for when he unmuted his phone.

“-have a point with that but you can’t just assume that only  _ one _ opinion is needed for this!” came in Feitan’s voice a lot louder than Kurapika thought it was going to be, making him flinch and drop his phone.

“Okay but my opinion is the  _ sensible _ one, whereas yours will take way too long!”

“How about this, why don’t we ask Kurapika for his opinion since this is  _ his  _ love life we’re meddling with?”

Kurapika quickly picked up the phone when he heard his name, fumbling to get it to face the right way when the question ended.

“First off, it’s not even romantic, and second off, it’s going to  _ stay _ that way. I’m not going to try and change things; I’m content with how things are now.” he said sternly.

“Wha-? But Kurapika, that’s not what you said last time.” Melody said, and while he knew it was true, and that he still did  _ want _ more out of the relationship, he just wasn’t comfortable being the one to make it happen.

“I know Melody, but we’re just friends. That’s how it is.”

Feitan groaned in the background and said “You’re both so- UGGHHHH!”

“Well, if that’s “how it is,” then I won’t try and push things forward.” Melody said gently. “But if you change your mind and want to go through with it, then let me know okay?”

“Okay, I will; thank you Melody.” he said, hanging up before anything else could be said on the matter.

Kurapika sighed afterwards, flopping back into his seat with an arm over his eyes. He was glad his friends cared for him, but even so…

He uncovered his eyes and peered up at the door to Chrollo’s place, wondering what would happen if he did just go in there and confess–no,  _ wrong word! It is  _ not  _ a confession! It won’t ever  _ be  _ a confession! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! _

Kurapika smacked himself upside the head. He was really dumb wasn’t he? He sighed again and unbuckled his seatbelt and took his keys out of the ignition.  _ Might as well get going now before you get lost in your thoughts again dumbass. _ Kurapika shook his head at his self depreciating thought and walked up to Chrollo’s door, which was again, not locked, leaving Kurapika to criticize the other man in his mind.

“Hey Chrollo, you didn’t lock your-” Kurapika started saying before stopping when he saw the older man passed out on the couch, probably looking more peaceful than he’d ever seen him, which was something the blonde had a hard time believing himself since Chrollo always looked relaxed.  _ Maybe he’s had a long week. _ Kurapika thought to himself as he took a seat on the couch perpendicular to the one Chrollo occupied.

Kurapika brushed some strands of hair out of Chrollo’s face, smiling to himself in amusement when Chrollo mumbled something about still needing to know  _ why _ Hisoka changed his perfume.  _ Yes, _ Kurapika thought as he continued to pet Chrollo’s hair,  _ things are fine just the way they are. _


	10. Love

It was hours later when Chrollo awoke again, not having any sense for where he was until he fell off of his own couch, almost hitting the glass coffee table next to him as he face planted into the carpet. He let out of breath of pain, his body refusing to want to move after having such a pleasant nap, but he was startled when he heard Kurapika’s voice.

“Chrollo, are you alright?” he asked, his face coming into view above the other couch.

“I’m fine, I think… when did you get here?”

“When you were asleep?”

“Right… what did you…?”

“I fed your fish. And cleaned some stuff up, while you were out.” Kurapika said before turning out of Chrollo’s view towards the living area. “I also made food.”

“You  _ what? _ ” Chrollo asked, pushing himself off the ground quickly only to hit one of his shoulders on the coffee table.  _ Ow. _ He scrambled up holding onto his bruising shoulder to see Kurapika mixing something in the kitchen as he was greeted by the smell of whatever it was the blonde was cooking. And it smelled  _ delicious. _

“I hope it wasn’t too presumptuous of me to do this, I just didn’t want to wake you up is all.” Kurapika defended quickly when Chrollo had made his way to the kitchen entrance to see what the shorter man was making.

“Oh no it’s fine, I hadn’t even… wait…” Chrollo saw now that Kurapika had no clock over the back of his hand, but instead was just a regular hand holding a spatula.  _ If he’s not here for a grudge, then what is he here for? _ Chrollo decided to take a stab at asking him.

“Uh, why, um… why are you here?”

Kurapika raised an eyebrow at him, as if it was even stupid to ask, but decided to humor him. “You had invited me over for a date last weekend and we had arranged it for today. Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” he asked, moving forward to feel his forehead.

Chrollo took a too quick step backwards and ran into the dining table behind him and forcing the chair next to him to be shoved awkwardly to the side. Kurapika stopped what he was doing, looking more concerned than amused by the spectacle Chrollo had just caused.

“Oooookay, I’m going to take that as a ‘no’ then.” Kurapika said, retracting his hand as he went back to finishing up with the food. “You take a seat then and leave the rest to me; I don’t want you pushing yourself too hard.”

Chrollo nodded, not really sure why he acted the way he did, but decided to oblige with Kurapika’s plan. Maybe he wasn’t feeling too good after all?

It was only a few minutes later when Kurapika finished the food, turning off the kitchen light as he exited and serving the food to Chrollo, who was at that point famished and ready to eat whatever it was that smelled so savory. Though, it wasn’t until he took a few bites into whatever it was that was in front of him did he glance up at Kurapika, a realization slowly dawning on him.

“Kurapika.”

The blonde paused in eating to look up at Chrollo.

“Hmm?”

“This is the first time you’ve hosted a date.”

Kurapika blushed profusely at the observation.

“No! This is still yours! Right?”

“Not really; you made the food.”  _ Whatever it is. _

“But it’s at your house!”

“The place doesn’t matter, you still did this all yourself.” Chrollo said, gesturing between both of their plates. “This is very much your first time hosting a date.”

Kurapika pursed his lips, the blush clinging stingley to his face as he tried to rebuttal Chrollo’s claim.

“You-! You probably don’t even know what this is! I could be feeding you poison for all you know!”

“But you still made it especially for us didn’t you?” Chrollo said smiling, enjoying Kurapika’s flustered face  _ way  _ too much. “Whether I die from it or not is irrelevant.”

Kurapika seemed to contemplate with himself for a while before eventually just sticking his tongue out at Chrollo before resuming to eat. Chrollo shrugged and counted it as a win-win. Not only had he gotten the last word in on the subject, but it appeared that Kurapika’s grudge clock hadn’t appeared because of it either. 

After that they had light conversation about what they had been up to since they last saw each other, Kurapika’s inquiries more focused on if he had been getting enough sleep in which Chrollo reassured him that _“_ _ Yes, I am, please don’t be all too concerned with it, please, you’ll ruin your own sleep that way.” _

“Alright but really Kurapika, what is in what you made?”

“Chrollo, it’s just a standard Mexican dish.”

“Do I  _ look _ like I’m Mexican cuisine connoisseur?”

“...No.” Kurapika answered with some difficulty, but he seemed like he wouldn’t give over the answer so easily. “But I do expect you to know  _ some  _ food groups!”

“Well sure I mean, there is some beans, cheese, some rice, and tortillahs-”

“ _ Tortillas _ .”

“Yeah yeah, flat corn bread or something; and some type of meat? I think?”

“Chrollo, these tortillas weren’t even made of corn, they were made of flour.”

“Oh.”

“And second, it was meat; a sausage more specifically.”

“That did  _ not _ taste like a sausage.”

“What were you expecting? German sausage?”

“No? Yes? I don’t know!” Chrollo shrugged, glancing back into the kitchen to look at the pan, trying to evaluate if there was still some left over. “But whatever it was, it was good.”

There was a pause before Kurapika responded.

“It was chorizo. It’s good, but for some reason it’s hard to find in some stores.”

“Aww, that sucks.” Chrollo said, but his response only garnered a weird look from Kurapika.

“...Chrollo, it both amazes and disturbs me how you don’t know what’s in your own fridge.”

“Wait,  _ I  _ had that?”

“Yes, Chrollo. Everything from this meal was in your fridge and pantry.”

“...I… I don’t cook a lot.” he defended, and it managed to make Kurapika chuckle and crack a smile at him.

“As I can see. The eggs were almost about to go bad.”

“Where in the hell did you use eggs in this meal?”

“With the chorizo.”

Chrollo closed his eyes dramatically, as he slowly raised one hand and gently placed it on his face.

“I am a fool.”

“You speak the truth for once.” Kurapika said as Chrollo gave him an overly offended look from across the table, placing a hand over his chest in a dainty manner.

“I have  _ never _ been so  _ insulted! _ ”

Kurapika bursted out laughing at the reaction, and that’s when Chrollo dropped his act in order to fully pay attention to and watch the blonde across from him be in such a state of joy. He wondered if this… this  _ affectionate _ feeling in himself was what others would describe as love.  _ Is this really all this is to it? _ Chrollo thought as Kurapika began wiping at the tears having formed in his eyes.  _ Surely it must be something mor- _

“Chrollo, you just keep on proving how truly special you are to me.” Kurapika said, his smile as radiant as the setting sun, and  _ that's  _ when Chrollo felt it. His heart speeding up, his eyes widen, his palms become sweaty, his senses heightened to where everything in the air felt palpable to him.  _ This is it, _ he thought.  _ This is love. _


	11. Escalation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! I hope you've liked everything so far! This is the last chapter of this part, but fear not for I shall come back to this one day. I promise. Anyway, thank you for reading this and have a wonderful day!

Kurapika immediately regretted saying those words as soon as he let the air pass by his lips to make the sounds for the sentence, because everything became very still, very  _ surreal. _ It didn’t feel like time was passing anymore, but his mind was already running a hundred miles a minute about his newest mistake.

_ I thought we weren’t supposed to tell him yet? I thought we wanted things to stay the same? Maybe this is the time to change, but I bet you’re going to back out of this as soon as the chance presents itself you coward! _

Kurapika wanted to prove himself wrong about wanting to escape this whole situation, but he was already out of his seat, grabbing his plate and walking past Chrollo and into the kitchen to wash it, not even bothering to turn on the kitchen light as he did.  _ Once I’m done with this, I’m going to leave, _ he told himself. Or, that was his intended plan until he saw his clock slowly illuminate above his skin, the countdown starting from  **24:00:00** and then counting down slowly. He could only watch in horror as it ticked down second by second.  _ Who was this grudge even against? _

Chrollo still hadn’t moved from his spot at the table, Kurapika noted, so he hastily finished cleaning and drying his dishes in what little moonlight the window provided before trying to hide the brightly glowing timer with his long sleeves. Kurapika didn’t even hear Chrollo get up, but he did hear his voice loud and clear right behind him.

“Are you alright?”

Kurapika turned around faster than he wanted to, making his head feel dizzy and his vision swim, but he ignored it in favor of addressing Chrollo’s concern so that he wouldn’t pay attention to him.

“Yeah, yes. Absolutely fine. You uh, you didn’t grab your dish…” Kurapika noted, thinking previously that the other had gotten up to clean his own dish. “Why are you-”

“What is that.” Chrollo said, no question about it.  _ He saw it. _ Kurapika decided he would try to bluff the older man.

“Nothing.”

_ Wow, he’ll definitely believe that, genius. _

“Is it something that I did?” Chrollo asked, ignoring the blonde’s blatant lie. Kurapika felt an immense wave of guilt at Chrollo’s question, and he wasted no time in comforting him, not even caring at that point if the clock was visible, his sleeve slipping down and revealing the bright red timer above his hand.

“No it’s nothing you did! This isn’t even for you, it’s… it’s…”

“Kurapika, what else could it be for?” Chrollo asked almost sadly, and it pulled at Kurapika’s heart to hear that tone in his voice. Kurapika gripped onto Chrollo’s shirt but he couldn’t think of a way to say what he  _ thought _ it was without sounding really dumb, but the older man’s eyes were so full of guilt at himself that Kurapika threw out the notion of sounding stupid altogether. This wasn’t just about him after all.

“...myself.” Kurapika finally answered, seeing that the answer caught Chrollo by surprise. “I’m just angry at myself.”

“Is that… even possible?” Chrollo questioned, and Kurapika shook his head, because this was new to him too, but it was better than letting Chrollo feel as if he had done something wrong when he really hadn’t.

“I’m not sure, but there is only one way to find out.” Kurapika said, backing a bit aways from Chrollo, his back hitting the countertop behind him.  _ Self sabotage. _ “Punch me.”

“What?” Chrollo asked incredulously, and really, you wouldn't think the guy had previously been an assassin by the reaction he had given Kurapika. “I- I can’t do that to you!”

“But you have to; I need to get revenge on myself.”  _ And to prove to myself that we’ll never be more than friends and that I shouldn’t have pushed the boundary, no matter how slight. _

Chrollo frowned, seeming distressed by the decision he was seemingly given. To punch or not to punch, were the options. Kurapika was willing to wait there all night if that’s what it took to get the older man to punch him. Kurapika decided to try one more time to convince the other man of his plan.

“Please.” he said almost in a whisper.  _ And make it hard enough to where I’m knocked out cold too, please and thanks,  _ he added in his thoughts.

Chrollo’s lips thinned at the ushering, his mind appearing to be made up about his next plan of action. He stepped forward and Kurapika squeezed his eyes shut, ready for the impact, but it never came, because apparently there was a third option that the older man had come up with, an option that Kurapika himself didn’t even dare to take into consideration.

When Kurapika felt Chrollo’s hand hold the small of his back his eyes flew open, his mouth ready to protest that  _ this was  _ not _ part of the plan _ , but he was immediately silenced by Chrollo’s lips on his own, his voice of reason instead turning into a hum of satisfaction. One that he found  _ incredibly embarrassing. _ But it didn’t seem to phase Chrollo at all, who pulled back and smiled down gently at him, making Kurapika’s heart do really stupid things like pound really loudly in his ears and make him feel like his body was on fire.

“I think your problem is solved now.” Chrollo said, his voice attractively husky as his free hand slid down Kurapika’s arm and tenderly brought up the hand that used to have the clock on it into the blonde’s eye view, the back of the hand as smooth and unilluminated as it always was without any traces of an ominous hovering circle over his skin.

Kurapika could only stare at his hand, awestruck at the simplicity at which Chrollo had quickly resolved the situation. And with what? A fucking  _ kiss _ .  _ Like some dumb fairy tale, _ his mind teased him.

“I’m sorry if it was presumptive of me to do that, but I really didn’t want to hurt you.” Chrollo said after clearing his throat, his voice going back to normal. “I think I’m in the clear since your clock isn’t back, but if you still want to punch me for it-”

Kurapika grabbed a fistful of Chrollo’s shirt, and rather than hold him there and sucker punch him like the other was surely expecting, the blonde pulled him forward and sealed his lips with his own, quickly and purposefully devolving the kiss into something more heated and passionate than the simple peck Chrollo had given Kurapika just a few moments earlier.

Kurapika pulled at the bottom of Chrollo’s shirt to pull him closer, the blonde arching into his body, eliciting a groan from Chrollo when he did so. Chrollo’s hands found their way to Kurapika’s hips where he held them in order to keep his balance, making a weird tingly feeling shoot up the blonde’s spine. When they both parted to breathe, Chrollo gave a weak laugh.

“What brought this on?”

“You didn’t punch me, so I didn’t punch you.” Kurapika replied, trying to not sound as out of breath as he felt.

“That’s some interesting logic you have there.” Chrollo said, one of his hands moving to rest on the side of Kurapika’s face, the movement causing the blonde’s earring to swing lightly. Kurapika had to remind himself to  _ breathe goddammit, he isn’t that attractive! _

“You’re really attractive.” Kurapika murmured instead, only realizing that he had said that out loud when Chrollo sucked in a breath to respond back just as quietly.

“You are too.”

A split second later and their lips met again, any and all thoughts of rationality and pride thrown to the side. Chrollo’s hands cupped Kurapika’s face and Kurapika mimicked the gesture, trying to pull the taller man impossibly closer to him than before. Chrollo moved his hands down Kurapika’s chest and stomach to rest on his hips again, his thumbs tracing circles on the blonde’s exposed skin. Kurapika shuddered a breath into their kiss because of it, losing most of the air he had left in him and prompting him to pull back earlier than he had wanted to.

When Chrollo and Kurapika parted, they pressed their foreheads against each other's, taking a bit of time to actually breathe this time around. They both stood there like that for what felt like hours holding each other, Chrollo leaning against Kurapika and Kurapika leaning back up against the kitchen counter, relishing in the moment where their minds had yet to catch up with their actions.

“Well, this isn’t how I saw the night going.” Kurapika remarked, making Chrollo laugh darkly, and it  _ really  _ wasn’t fair how turned on it made Kurapika.

“Neither did I. I’m just glad I didn’t do something rash like push you up onto the counter like I had wanted to.” Chrollo admitted laughingly, and if Kurapika was being honest with himself, he would not have minded that  _ at all _ .  _ In fact… _

“Maybe you should do it anyway.” Kurapika said, placing his hands on Chrollo’s shoulders. He quickly debated whether or not to continue, but then decided to say  _ fuck it _ and say what he wanted anyway. “I don’t think I have any plans for tomorrow anyway, so…”

Kurapika let the sentence taper, watching Chrollo’s reaction carefully when he did. It seemed to take the older man a few seconds to process what the blonde had said, but when it finally sank in, Kurapika was unable to prepare for Chrollo literally  _ lifting him off the ground _ and pushing him onto the countertop, then taking ahold of the back of the blonde’s head and pulling him into a deep kiss.

The energy of it all felt so raw to Kurapika that he felt his head get dizzy instantly from it, his arms and legs wrapping around Chrollo to pull him closer in attempt to have something stable to hold onto. It didn’t seem to help all that much since Chrollo was the  _ source _ for his hazed mind, but he couldn’t bring himself to care, letting the older man take control of the kiss as he let himself float in the bliss… 

That is, until Chrollo’s phone rang really loudly from the living room, startling the both of them enough to where Kurapika had released Chrollo from his grip, which lead Chrollo into falling backwards and running into the countertop opposite of the one they’d just been near. They stared at each other with wide eyes, everything that had just transpired between them flashing before their eyes, their regrets started to catch up to them as Chrollo’s phone continued ringing in the background.

Kurapika quickly became self conscious and closed his parted legs and hid his face behind one of his arms, coughing to clear his throat.

“You’re uh… you’re phone is ringing.” Kurapika stated rather obviously, and that seemed to snap Chrollo out of his owlish staring.

“Ah, right.” Chrollo said, his voice a bit hoarse. He briskly escaped from the kitchen, walking to the living room to get his phone.

As he did that, Kurapika lightly touched at his lips that he was sure were bruised by the force at which they had been… kissing. His face heated up immediately at the thought, but he didn’t have much time to think about it, because he heard his name get called.

“Kurapika.”

Originally, the blonde was going to assume that he was being called out to talk about what had just happened, but when he hopped off the counter and walked out of the kitchen, Chrollo was standing near the dining table, looking at his phone in… a despondent way.

Kurapika immediately became concerned, and decided that whatever was going on now was more important than any awkward feelings they may have had for each other.

“Chrollo? What’s wrong?” Kurapika asked, grabbing ahold to his other hand that had been lying helplessly by Chrollo’s side. It was slow, but Chrollo slowly gripped at Kurapika’s hand, as if trying to prevent himself from doing something.

“Hisoka…” Chrollo started, then swallowed a lump in his throat before continuing. “Hisoka has turned up dead.”

**End of Part I**


End file.
